“The only thing
necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke.
There is a negative
attitude that is prevalent in our land and having negative effect on our
existence. That is the “mind your business” mentality. I am sure you are not
new to this phrase. People tell themselves or others to mind their business,
which implies that they should focus on what concerns them while neglecting the
subject of discussion which to them is none of their business. This mindset is
coming from the saying that “everyman to
himself but God for us all”.
This “mind your
business” is an “I don’t care” mentality, it can also be called “it is not my
problem” mentality. This is coming from the fact that we live in an ego-centric
and self-centred society. So, we are prone to define the term “minding your
business” as a way of caring or paying attention to anything that happens
around our immediate family members, friends or environment, not minding the
future or the resultant effect of another person’s action. Some tends to
restrict what they see to be their business as that that pertains only to their
nuclear family. That is actually self-deception; telling yourself a lie that
you have convinced yourself to believe; forgetting the saying that “what goes around comes around”.
Take this scenario;
a road user called Mike accosted another road user who was driving against the
traffic, but since Mike was not a law enforcement agent, everyone around the
scene chided him to mind his business. He was told to just continue his journey
and forget about the issue since to them, there was no cause for alarm and
considering that he has a destination to catch up with and time to save. But of
a truth, that was also Mike’s business, as we shall see later.
Here is another
scenario; because you, your friend or your family members are not vying for any
political position in your country, you’ve decided not to go and cast your vote.
You tell yourself that is not your business; you said you have some personal
business to run. You forgot that the election that is being conducted has a way
of affecting your stay and comfort in that society?
The question then is, “what is actually your
business”?
When the Scripture
talks about “learning to mind your business” in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, it was
not talking about having an “I don’t care” attitude towards things that
pertains to the welfare of the general society. It was actually talking about
minding your business in relation to being focused on what you are doing as an
individual and not being busybody or distracted by other people’s ventures. The
Scripture admonishes us further; don’t
just think about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and in
what they are doing. Philippians 2:4 TLB. And 1 Corinthians 10:24 MSG
reads: We want to live well, but our
foremost efforts should be to help others live well.
We can then say, “minding
your business” doesn’t imply that you start prying into people’s privacy or
getting yourself entangled with issues that you can’t provide help or solution
to. It doesn’t mean taking
responsibility for other’s failures or misbehaviour. It does not also mean that
you evade responsibility or show a nonchalant attitude to the world or
happenings around because as it’s said “whatever
goes around comes around”.
However, minding
your business thus implies that you are concerned with anything or anybody that
pertains to you or your comfort and existence either directly or indirectly; in
the present or in the future. Yes, you should respect boundaries, you should count
the cost and the risk involved in any issue while you avoid being judgemental,
but be an example of what is right. You should also know that “minding your
business” requires knowing why and when to get involved in any issue for the
general good.
Take for instance, if
a child who is not your relative grows up to become a criminal, the chances of
that child harming or affecting your descendants is very high. So, we can see that
the business of bringing up a child in the proper way is part of your business
because it’s for the common good of all and besides, if you say it’s not your business;
you might suffer it in the long run.
Your business is the
society; your community and everything that happens there. You will either
enjoy the prosperity, peace and security of your society or you will be a
victim of the crimes in it.
The Church and the
happenings in the Church should be your business, whether your local assembly
or the universal Church. If you are jealous for the cause of Christ, the
happenings in the Christian folds should be a major concern to you, especially
when you consider the generations after you. In like manner, everything that
happens in your local assembly should be of great concern to you irrespective
of whether you are a leader in the Church or not. Because your Church directly
and indirectly sets the cause for your life and family.
The happenings among
your relations, friends and neighbours should be of great concern to you. The
prosperity of where you work or your spheres of business and influence, the
happenings in your country and the world at large should also be a great
concern to you.
Don’t be nonchalant
about the things of life; you have to speak out against the things that are
evil, wrong and unjust in your spheres of influence. Take actions when you need
to, and pray when you need to. Take responsibility whenever it is necessary and
don’t say it’s not your business.
Take for instance,
if you see falsehood in the pulpit and you refuse to speak out against it for
people not to be lead astray because you think is not your business, since you
are not in the leadership of the Church. Have you really considered the long
time effect of your silence and refusal to take responsibility?
Are you unconcerned
about the destitute children in your locality; they are neither educated nor having
the fear of God in them? Be aware that peradventure these children become
kidnappers or armed robbers tomorrow, you and your own children that you are
investing in might end up being their victim. So, never forget that “what is good for the goose is good for the
gander”.
There are different
ways you can show responsibility to the happenings around you. Every problem
does not require money. Some of the things you can do against evil, injustice
and problems around you are;
- Speaking out against injustice, wrong doing and evil.
- Reach out to help.
- Pray about issues around you.
- Show genuine concern.
- Invest your time and resources.
- Take responsibility.
If we can all yield
to this call then can we begin to change our world for the better.
No comments:
Post a Comment